Pumping apparatus for wells



v.' H. PALM PUMPING APPARATUS FOR WELLS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 28, 1923 ll il IllllHlll i Illlllll QN NW 1 L om l MN NM m a i mm. RN J 9 m a QM I. QM liq Q mm mmw [H I ll IIHIIIIHIHIHIHIIHH HIM IIIHHIHHI lllll Patented Dec. '23, 1924.

UNITED STATE VICTOR 1L PALM, or BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA.

PUMPING APPARATUS roe WELLS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VICTOR H. PALM, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Butler, in the county of Butler and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pumping Apparatus for Wells; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to pumping apparatus, more especially adapted for pumping water or oil out of deep wells.

The object of the invention is to provide apparatus by means of which only one string of tubes is employed and in which rods or'a wire line for raising and lowering the pump valve may be dispensed with, if

desired, and in lieu thereof to so construct the working-barrel and parts that the fluid pressure will have a larger area to work on upwardly, using part of the tubing and guide rings as'a weight to overcome the upward pressure and keeping the plunger m a lowered position, so, that when it is desired to operate the working valve andv plunger, both can be raised by putting extra pressure in the tubes so that the fluid pressure will overcome the weight of said tubes and guide rings to raise the plunger and valve. \Vhen said pressure is relieved, the weight of the tubes and guide rings will lower saidworking-valve and plunger.

To these ends my invention comprises, the

following features hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is" a sectional view of a pump, timing, valves, accumulator; by-pass, =etc'., which may beemployed; -;Fig. 218a ve'rticalTsection on air enlarged' scale, ofa mtion of the" tubes position in a well; Fig. 3 is a verticalse tionalivie-w of'workingjbarrel Fig; 4 is lower end,- "and which rests on thebottoni of the jwell"=or"on some-foundation specially-f" prepared therefor. The coupling ,2 is.

P e: d we se a e el le? were; e: 1:;

si e? ordinary standing-valve 3 of any suitable construction. p

The working-valve 4 operates in the barrel 5 which screws into the bottomof a stufiing-box 6. A hollow plunger7 provided with perforations 8 carries at its lower end the working-valve {1 which closes the lower end of said plunger.

The perforations 8' in the plunger 7 communicate with the chamber 9 of the working-barrel. The plunger 7 screwsinto the hollow-plunger 10 of larger diameter, there bv forming the said chamber 9 the bar rel 11.

The plunger 10 has projections 1 0;?

lower end adapted to engage the shoulder 12 on the stufiiing-box' 12 which is screwed to the upper endof the barrel 11.; This prevents the plunger from being withdrawn. entirely on the lip-stroke, and further fpro-r vides means by whichthe lower-parts area;

lowered and withdrawn from the wells The lower end of the barrel 11 has the i5." projection 11 which acts as a gland'to;

tighten the packing of the stufling-box 6. 7 A gland 13 screws into the upper end of the stufling-box 12 and acts to tighten the pack-1* ing in said stufling box. The springgl lis interposed between said gland 13 and. a =2 flange l5 on the collar 15 which; screws on to the upper end of 'the hollow+plunger "10,

the said spring aetingas a eushion for-said plunger on the down-stroke.

. The upper end'ofg the hollow-plunger ltlg is threaded interi'orly; as at 16-to reeeivetheij' lower end of the tube 1-6.f.= .Tl1"e tubesi 1 7 f screw into the collar, 15 andsaid tubesiform i v find F FPQ IVQ HfiLtO use'standard" pa rt of the 'plung'erf .10.,like J the tubes f lGl pipes fort ubes the bottom I of the plunger 1 0 .in the chant 'ber "will more hereinafter-3131 631? J The uppe di ffi h' u es 5 p l f. erably be" above thefiu'id'le vel in the well 1? i Qs e above the es wqu dib necessary to increase f flu centrally in the well, said rings being perforated as at 18 to permit gas or fluid to pass.

Guide-rings 19 are provided 'to keep the inner tube central. These guide-rings 18 and 19 rest on collars 20 and 21, respectively, and provide additional weight to the plunger 10 for overcoming the upward pressure on said plunger.

The tube 17 is provided with a left-hand thread as at 22, and said thread engages the bottom of collar 23 when lowering the pump into or withdrawing it from the well, but is unscrewed whenthe pump is in operation. The collar 23 screws on to the stuffing-box 2-1 and supports the packing.

The tube 16 works through the stufiingbox 24, and as said tube is part of the plunger 10, the exposed upper area of the plunger 10 only has thepressure that bears against the exposed area of said tube 16.

A cage 25 screws on to the upper end of tube 16, and said cage being likewise part of the plunger 10 can be weighted to accelerate the lowering of the plunger without pulling the tube 26 which extends to the top of the well and connects with the timing-valve chest 27, Fig. 1.

A suitable pressure pump 28 is provided to be operated by a suitable motor or engine. The suction-line 29 or inlet to the pump is provided with a valve 30 for controlling the amount of fluid going to the pump. The discharge-line 31 leads from the pump to the valve-chest 27, said discharge-line being provided with the safety-valve 32, or bypass, from the discharge-line 31 to the suction-line 29.

An accumulator 33 is provided for, said accumulator being provided with the weight 34 so that it will take a little more pressure to raise said accumulator'than the plunger 10 in the well. In this way, when the plunger 10 is going down or discharging, the pressure-pump will be raising the accumulator, plunger and weight, and upon the next up-stroke of the mulator will descend and increase the upward travel of said plunger 10. In place of the accumulator an air-chamber may be useso that the compressed air will store up emtra power. The safety-valve-is set for the pressure which it takes to raise the accumulator, or the pressure discharge in the airchamber, where said air-chamber is employcd.

By storing the pressure on the discharge or down-stroke the pumpneed not be so large as it is working practically all the time.

The valve-chest 27 has valves 35 and 35 operated by cams 36 and 36, respectively, which are operated by suitable gearing 37 from the pump 28. a

The discharge-line 38 leads from the valve-chest, and said discharge-line has the plunger 10, said accu-- valve 39 for controlling the discharge so tglat the plunger 10 will not drop too rap- 1 y.

A receiving tank 40 is provided.

Valve-tappets 41 and 41- are provided which are operated by the cams 36 and 36, respectively. Springs 42 and 42 are .provided for seating the said valves. A suitable pressure-gage 43 may be employed.

The operation of my improved pumping apparatus is as follows:

The working-valve 4 and plunger 10 being in the lowered position, as shown in Fig. 3, pressure from the pump 28 passes to the timing valve-chest 27 and through valve 35 which is open, thence through the discharge to tubes 26 which are now filled with fluid. As the pressure increases, the fluid is forced through the perforations 8 in the plunger 7 into the chamber 9. As the lower part or face of the strainer tube 1 is supported from the bot-tom of the well so that it cannot yield downwardly, pressure will be exerted against the lower face of the plunger 10 to raise it and the tubes and the guide-rings which are used to weight it down. The perforated tube or. plunger 7 and working-valve 4 being attached to the plunger 10 will also be raised which will create a space between the standing-valve 3 and the working-valve 4. Fluid will be admitted to this space going through the perforated pipe 1 and valve 3.

\Vhen the pressure pump has made the desired number .of strokes and raised the plunger 10 by filling the chamber 9, the cam 36 will then be in position to allow the valve 35 to close, and the pressure will now act to raise the accumulator 33 or by pass through the safety-valve 32. When the valve 35 closes, the cam 36 willopen the valve 35 and release the extra pressure so that the weighted plunger 10 will descend and force the fluid in the chamber 9 back through the perforations 8 and through the plunger 10 and tubes 16 into the tubes 26. The fluid between the standing-valve 3 and workingvalve 4 will of course be forced through the working-valve during descent of the plunger.

The amount of fluid that is displaced between the standing-valve and workingvalve plunger is the amount gained or pumped.

The fluid in the tubes 26 passes into the valve-chest and through the valve 35 which is now opened, and out through the pipe 38 and valve 39 to the tank.

y my invention I employ only one string of tubes and the rods or wire-line for raising and lowering the pump-valve may be dispensed with which greatly reduces the cost of pumping, furthermore, when the well is located away from. the pump-house, the engine and pressure pump and'timing valves are in one unit and can be located at the house,.and the tubes run'to the well, and as the plunger can be nearly balanced it will not take as much power for the pumping operation. Furthermore where there is more than one well, one large pump can furnish the fluid pressure and a timing or discharging valve usedv for each well. \V here it is desired to use rods or a wire line, said rods or wire line are, or is, connected to the upper end of the plunger, as shown at a dotted lines, Fig. 2. The rods or wire line may be used in conjuntion with the fluid-pressure pump or not, as desired. The ordinary walking-beam is employed to operate the rods or wire-line.

I do not wish to limit myself to the particular form of apparatus illustrated, as this may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention.

WVhat I claim is: I

1. The combination of a standing-valve, a working-barrel, a hollow-plunger in said wm-king-barrel having pressure areas of varying size, a working-valve carried by said plunger, said hollow-plunger communicating with said working-barrel at an enlarged area of the plunger, and means 'for .raising and lowering said hollow-plunger,

the hollow passage of said plunger extending from the upper end thereof and communicating with the working barrel.

2. The combination of a standing-valve, a working-barrel, a hollow-plunger in said working-barrel comp-rising an upper and lower portion, the lower portion being of greater cross sectional area than the upper portion, a working-valve carried by said plunger, said plunger communicating with said working-barrel at a point of greater cross sectional area, and means for raising and lowering said plunger, the hollow passage of said plunger extending from the upper end thereof and communicating with the working barrel.

3. The combination of a standing-valve, a working-barrel, a hollow-plunger in "said working-barrel having pressure areas of varying size, a 'working-valve carried by said plunger, fluid pressure means for forcing liquid from said hollow plunger into said working-barrel to act on the lower, enlarged pressure area ofsaid plunger, and means permitting the fluid in said barrel to flow upwardly through said plunger upon downward movement thereof,

4. The combination of a standing-valve, a working-barrel, a hollow plunger in said working-barrel having pressure areas of varying size, aworking-valve carried by said plunger, and fluid-pressure means for forcing liquid from said hollow plunger into said working-barrel to act on the lower enlarged pressure area of said plunger, and means for accelerating the lifting of said plunger.

5. The combination of a standing-Valve, a working-barrel, a hollow plunger in said working-barrel 'having' pressure areas of varying size, a tube forming part of said plunger, a. working-valve carried by said tube, said tube having communication with said working-barrel, and fluid-pressure means for forcing liquid from said tube into said working-barrel to act on the lower enlarged area of said plunger.

6. The combination of a standing-valve, a working-barrel, a hollow plunger in said working-barrel having pressure areas of varying size, a working-valve carried by said plunger, a fluid-pressure pump, and connections between said pump and said hollow plunger, whereby liquid is forced by the admission of fluid-pressure into said working-barrel to act onthe lower enlarged area of said plunger, the hollow passage of said plunger extending from the upper end thereof and communicating with the work ing barrel.

7. The combination of a standing-valve,

aworking-barrel, a hollow weighted plunger in said working barrel having pressure areas of varyingsize, a working-valve carried by said plunger, fluid-pressure means for forcing liquid from said plunger into said working-barrel to act on the lower enlarged pressure area of said plunger, and means permitting, the fluid in said barrel to flow upwardly through said plunger upon downward movement thereof.

. 8. The combination of a standing-valve, a working barrel, a hollow plunger in said working-barrel having pressure areas of varying size, a working-valve carried by said plunger, a fluid-pressure pump, an accelerator, and connections between said pump and said accelerator and said hollow plunger, whereby fluid is forced into said hollow plunger to force liquid therefrom into said working-barrel to act on thelower enlarged pressure area of said plunger for raising same. I

9. Well apparatus comprising a standing valve, a working barrel, tubing extending from the top of the well and communicating adjacent to its lower end with said working barrel through a plunger of relatively large cross sectional area, means for admitting fluid under pressure to the under side of said plunger to raise said plunger and tube, a working valve carried by said plunger through which liquid will be forced when said plunger moves downwardly,'and means adjacent to the upper end of the tube for limiting the rate of flow of fluid therefrom upon downward movement of said tube and plunger.

10. In Well apparatus the combination of a working barrel disposed adjacent to the botom of the Well, tubing extending from said barrel to thetop of the well, a hollow plunger movable within the barrel and condescent thereof the liquid will be forced nected to said tube, the said plunger having through said plunger and tube to the surcomunication both with the tube and said face of the Well. 10 barrel, a Working valve connected to said In testimony whereof I, the said VICTOR 5 plunger, and means for intermittently ad- H- P LM, h v h n S t my h n mitting fluid pressure to said tube and plunger to raise the same, whereby upon VICTOR H. PALM, 

